RE: Public Expression of Religion Act

Dear Representative,

I urge you to oppose H.R. 2679, the Public Expression of Religion Act (PERA). The sole purpose of this bill is to make it more difficult for citizens to challenge government violations of their religious liberties.

PERA would bar the recovery of attorneys' fees to people who win lawsuits asserting that the government has violated their fundamental constitutional rights under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

Congress has long recognized that the recovery of attorney's fees in civil rights and constitutional cases, including Establishment Clause cases, is an essential component in the enforcement of our constitutional rights. By barring the recovery of attorneys' fees in Establishment Clause cases, few people would be able to afford to defend themselves in the event that the government has violated their religious liberties.

The right to practice religion, or no religion at all, is among the most fundamental of the freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. Religious liberty can only truly flourish when a government can both equally protect the free exercise of religion as well as prohibit state-sponsored endorsement and funding of religion.

Proponents of this bill have been spreading false rumors that religious symbols on gravestones at military cemeteries will be threatened without passage of PERA. But the truth is that religious symbols on soldiers' grave markers in military cemeteries (including Arlington National Cemetery) are entirely constitutional. These false rumors are an obvious attempt to mislead Congress and the American public about the real purpose of PERA, which is to undermine religious freedoms.

If the Constitution is to be meaningful, every American should have equal access to the federal courts to vindicate his or her fundamental constitutional rights. Please oppose H.R. 2679.

Most Sincerely,

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